My mom drove up last night to spend the weekend with me. It’s really
nice to have her here. I woke up at 4:40 this morning with a sore
shoulder from sleeping funny; it happens often now that I’m supposed to
be sleeping on my side, and I’ve been a back or stomach sleeper my
entire life. I never did get back to sleep, so I took a nice nap on the
couch this afternoon with Kevin, the dog, and one of the kitties.
I
had an appointment with a wig shop this morning at 10. Mom and Kevin
and I met my mother-in-law and sister-in-law at the shop, where the
woman had me try on several spectacularly wrong-for-me wigs before she
found one that was long enough to pull back and looked much more like
the wash-and-go hairstyle that I already have. This wig had a bit of wave to
it, but it wasn’t curly and it had highlights, so it still looked a bit
different. She said she saw one in a catalogue earlier this week that
she thinks will be exactly right for me; it’s a similar style to the wig
I still had on my head, but it was curly. She said they should be able
to match my color, curl shape, and texture quite closely, and they’ll
have it in next weekend. That will be just in time for me to shave my
head to prepare for it falling out on its own. My oncologist had said, “We urge people to take
control of losing their hair, so it doesn’t control them”. Seems reasonable.
So here’s what I’ve been
thinking. I’m going to lose my hair anyway, so maybe I can raise some money
for cancer research before that happens. St. Baldrick’s Foundation
raises money for childhood cancer research, and I can’t think of a better
cause to raise money for (unless you want to donate to Bernie Sanders’
campaign. I already knew we needed better healthcare in this county; my
medical bills this year will bring it far closer to home that I would
like. And we’re far better off than millions of people in this country).
So this weekend, before Saturday morning, in fact, I’m going to
buzz my head. It’s just long enough, I hope, that if I can buzz it off
in one ponytail, it’ll be long enough to donate for use in a wig for
someone else. It’s a win-win.
So will you donate? Lots of people have asked what they can do for us; this is something that would mean a lot to me.
Also, help us rent that damn rowhouse.
Also
on Saturday, delicious dinner at Bill Bateman’s Bistro, and I won best
dish, even though I could hardly put a dent in my shrimp and sausage mac
& cheese after enjoying my share of the crab pretzel appetizer. That
just means more leftovers. I really wanted to have some of my mother’s
toasted almond cocktail. Maybe I’d have taken a sip if I hadn’t already had
so many nasty chemicals pumped into my body in the last 36 hours.
What I put on Facebook:
Thank
you everyone for the kind words, well wishes, offers of assistance, and
prayers. It’s still somewhat surreal at times, but we’re taking it one
day at a time and getting through it all. Chemo definitely wasn’t as bad
as I thought it would be; in fact, I’ve been feeling quite good. I do
realize that isn’t likely to last, so I’ll enjoy it while I can.
Many
people have asked what we need and how they can help. I have a
suggestion. Since I’m going to lose my hair from the chemo within the
next 12 days, I have decided to take some control over it and go ahead
and shave it off on Friday. But I figured out a way to make it more
tolerable.
I am partnering with the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, an
organization that raises money for childhood cancer research by hosting
head shaving events. People pledge money to St. Baldrick’s, I shave my
head (and hopefully have enough length to donate my hair for a wig), and
then maybe losing my hair won’t be quite as crappy. Good plan, huh?
https://www.stbaldricks.org/participants/mypage/859023/2016
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